Shades of Desire: 10 Sweet & Spicy Romances

by J. A. Coffey

  She glanced down at the paper in her hand and then sat up straight. "Quick! Turn!" Her hand shot out toward the dirt road.

  Mikolas jerked the wheel to make the turn onto the road. "Shit, Gabi! Tell me a little earlier."

  "Just drive. The cabin is up there." She adjusted herself in her seat and seemed to be wide awake again.

  The headlights gave only a sliver of light through the night. He wasn't fond of the woods, and if it was anyone besides Gabrielle pulling this ridiculous stunt, the person would've been taken out already. The headlights cast light across the Medini hunting cabin.

  He pulled to a stop in the dirt driveway and stared up at the cabin with surprise. Most people had little one-room shacks with outhouses for their hunting cabins, using the excuse that it was fun to rough it in the woods. Not the Medinis'. Mikolas had only heard about the trips some of the men in The Family had taken to the cabin.

  "This is some place, Gabi." He whistled as he stared at the cream-colored house. It wasn't as big as the Medinis' regular house but looked more expensive than the average person's.

  "It should only be a one bedroom."

  "Haven't you been here before?"

  She rubbed her eyes with her hands. "Nope. Have you?"

  He shook his head, not sure that this had turned out to be such a good idea. "I don't think this place is used all that much. Gabrielle, are you sure there's electricity and water up here?"

  "Yes. Can I have the keys?" She didn't wait for an answer before leaning over and slipping them out of the ignition. "Let's grab the bags first. It'll make one less trip out here."

  "Oh, Gabi. Do you really need this stuff tonight? I'm beat." He'd rather do anything but be out in the cold a minute longer.

  She glanced at Mikolas. "Wow, Mik, a Mafia man whining. That's one for the books." Sarcasm dripped from each word.

  "You don't know anything about what I do," he whispered as trepidation swirled through him. How much did she know? He snapped his gaze away from her as heat rushed over his cheeks. If she noticed him blushing, she'd surely tease him even more. She wanted to have the bags brought in right now? Fine. It would keep him away from her awhile longer. Just what he needed to prevent himself from pinning her against his SUV to ravish her sexy-as-hell mouth.

  She shoved passed him to grab a suitcase. He watched her as she pulled what looked like the heaviest suitcase, the one housing his firearm, out of the back of the SUV. He grabbed another, strode around her, and headed into the house.

  He was exiting the house when she reached the stairs. "Let me take that. It's too heavy." Rushing over to her, he reached for the black designer luggage.

  "Nope." She pulled it to the stairs and struggled to heave the heavy suitcase up each step.

  "It's too heavy for you. Let me help." He reached for the handle a second time.

  She put her hand up, almost dropping the suitcase down the stairs she'd gone up. "No, it's not." She swiped at her eyes as if she'd started crying again, but he couldn't be sure since she kept her face turned away from him. "I'm tired so leave me alone."

  "Well, you have more important things to do than rest." He walked toward the truck but glanced back at her when the suitcase hit the porch.

  She stood with her hands on her hips. "Like what?"

  "Like have me at gun point all night, preventing yourself from getting any rest." He intended on the statement to be a joke, but the words came out a little too harsh for either of them to laugh at.

  "I'll just put this in the cabin and you'll have your wish fulfilled," she spat.

  "Being at the end of your gun barrel isn't my wish." But being in her heart was and he'd almost blurted it out to her. Damn, he needed some rest and so did she. If they didn't get to sleep at some point, she'd either end up shooting him out of spite or he'd be making love to her against the wall.

  Her face softened. "What do you wish for then?" The question actually sounded sweet, the sweetest he had ever heard. And it flustered him.

  "Nevermind."

  He watched her out the corner of his eye as he went to the opened trunk of the SUV to grab more bags. Three more to be exact. He grabbed two of the bags and walked up the stairs.

  Gabrielle was just pulling the heavy suitcase through the door. He hung back to admire her perfect shaped ass. He gripped the handles of the bags tighter in order to fight the urge to reach out to her. He would love to feel her once... okay, a lot more than just once. This was pure torture.

  "You brought a lot of stuff. How long do you plan on us being here?" he asked to distract himself or maybe to get her to stand up straight. She had put on a pair of jeans in the bathroom, but the denim was a designer low-rider style that formed around her ass and crept down low enough to show her red thong. As he grazed the flimsy fabric peeking out at him, he was sure his hard-on would bust through his pants.

  Once the suitcase cleared the door, she finally stood up but kept her back to him as she walked farther into the living room. She opened each door to check out the place.

  "Mik, please stop asking questions. I'll explain everything to you when I'm not so tired. Deal?" She didn't wait for him to answer before disappearing in the bedroom. The light filtered out into the living room.

  "I don't want to wait but really have no choice in that, huh?" he asked snidely as he followed her and dropped the bags on the floor in front of the closet.

  "I guess you're mad at me for not bringing you anything. I'd be mad too." Mikolas tried to ignore the apology and not notice her running her fingers through her hair as she talked. "Listen, I'm sorry I didn't bring any clothes for you. My father brings people up here to hunt sometimes, so I'm sure there are clothes for you to wear. Getting you, not your clothes, had been my concern."

  She opened the closets until she located a set of sheets and a quilt. He stepped back as she bent over to make the bed, driving him crazy even more. How in the hell would he get through this without touching her just once?

  He cleared his throat, tried to push down the desire rampaging through him, and tried to find the strength to pull his gaze from her. He couldn't, so he asked, "Why did I have to leave Vegas?"

  "Fuck, Mik! Don't you listen to me? I said I would explain it all tomorrow." She stood up, ripping his gaze from her backside.

  "I'm getting the last bag," he said. Tired and pissed.

  "Mik, wait," she said, but he didn't turn back.

  Just play along with her game, he told himself. With him in another room, she'd have time to slip his gun out of the suitcase and hide it somewhere else. Fine. She seemed to be the only person who knew what was going on. He would have to take her word on the fact that she'd tell him at some point, but obviously, her lips were zipped right now.

  He had to get the image of her lips out of his mind before he pictured what else she could do with her mouth. Or maybe how sweet they probably tasted? If she is trying to torture me, she is doing one hell of a job without the gun. Being with her at the family dinners were hard enough but alone for who knows how long? He looked around at the darkness looming from the surrounding woods. Out here in no-where? It's going to take every ounce of strength to keep my hands off her. But he didn't want to keep his hands to himself.

  He glanced back at the door, expecting her to show up at any second with the gun. If the night air hadn't turned so cold, he would've liked to hang outside for a minute to clear his head, but the chills dug deeper in him, motivating him to grab the bag from the trunk and hurry back to the cabin.

  Finding her sitting cross-legged on the bed made her even harder to ignore. Her pose wasn't intentionally sexy but Gabrielle looked irresistible with the t-shirt and sweats she'd hurried into. Her hair had been carelessly thrown into a ponytail with little tendrils hanging down around her face. She was simply gorgeous. Any bad feeling he held moments ago washed right out of him.

  "So," he said, hopping on the bed next to her. "What are the sleeping arrangements? It has to be past midnight by now."

  "Last ti
me I looked it was twelve-thirty." She stifled a yawn.

  "Tired?" he asked.

  He tried to keep his eyes on her face or the floor in front of him. Anywhere but focused on the rest of her body. Just looking at her shot desire through him like a bullet going through a pistol chamber. The curve of her breasts underneath the white fabric, the way her nipples puckered through her bra, and slimness of the shirt and baggy pants accentuated her figure.

  "Very. It's been a long day and I didn't sleep last night."

  "You need to rest. I swear to you that I won't try to leave." His fingers were only an inch from her leg. One small move would give him the opportunity to slip his hand over her thigh.

  Glancing down at him, she asked, "And why should I believe you?"

  "Because I haven't tried to get away yet," he said and then to lighten the tension his statement seemed to bring on, he added, "Where do you want me to sleep?"

  "I thought there would be more beds then this one. I was wrong."

  He wanted to touch her so bad but she'd pulled away from him earlier and probably would do the same now. He lay back against the soft comforter, wishing he could curl up underneath it with her. It just wasn't possible. "I'll sleep on the couch out there or the floor in here. Whatever you want." Or in bed with you as long as you were willing.

  "I couldn't ask you to sleep out there. I made you come here. The bed is big enough..."

  "No." Damn it all to hell. Why didn't he have the control over the harsh words that exploded from his mouth at every opportunity? He wanted her so bad that he ached. He wanted to sleep with her so bad but not out of guilt. He needed her to want him there.

  She flinched at his tone. "Okay, fine." She jumped and grabbed the extra blanket that had been folded across the end of the bed. Snatching a pillow from the bed, she spun around and stomped out of the room.

  He sighed and leaned back onto the remaining pile of pillows. She shouldn't be sleeping on the couch, but by the looks of things, that's what she intended to do. Gabrielle deserved to sleep in the warm bed, he thought as he drug himself from the bed to follow her into the living room. She had already curled up underneath the blanket.

  Her hand snatched the gun resting on the back of the couch. "What do you want?"

  "For you to sleep in the bed." Mik stood with his hands crossed over his chest. Why did she have to constantly have that stupid gun and be so goddamned stubborn? He leaned against the bedroom doorframe.

  Staring up at him with her big, wide eyes, she said, "I don't want to."

  "You are going to," he demanded.

  "I'm the one with the gun. Leave me alone or I will shoot you."

  With the way she was acting tonight, she probably would. He let out a frustrated laugh before turning his back to her. "I'm taking a shower."

  "I don't care what you do. Just go away, Mik."

  She forced him to come here but now she was telling him to go away? He laughed. What was wrong with that woman? He let out a sigh as he walked into the bedroom to rummage through the closet in hopes finding some sort of clean clothing.

  "Yuck," he mumbled as he went through the clothes on the hangers. Anything worth wearing hadn't been left here, that was for sure. Musty smelling flannel shirts and jeans hung nicely in the closet, neither of which he ever wore. A box at the bottom held more clothes, all looked to be from the men's department. He pulled a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt from one of the boxes. He shook each article of clothing out to double check that they were free of insects.

  As he passed through the living room, he glanced over at Gabi who huddled under the blanket, barely visible on the couch. He wanted to scoop her up and deliver her to the bed. At least their body heat would add some warmth since the chill still hung in the air like a damp blanket.

  He forced himself to take the necessary steps to walk past the couch. If he could get himself to the bathroom, maybe he'd muster up the required motivation to leave her alone for the rest of the night. Mikolas needed to take one minute at a time to get through this situation.

  He undressed as fast as possible. With each body part came uncovered, more goosebumps popped up on his bare skin. Damn it's cold, he thought as he pushed open the bathroom door. Longing for the warmth of the shower, he hurried over to the tub, twisted the knob, and waited for the chill to disappear.

  Mik held high hopes for the shower. He hoped the water washed all of the uncertain feelings away from him. Maybe the water even held the power to wash away the temptation to pull Gabrielle into his arms and carry her to the bed where he would make love to her all night long.

  By the time he finished in the shower, the only thing that had left was the chill that had swept through him earlier. The feelings continued to nag at him even as he dried off and frowned at the tasteless clothes he was forced to wear. After drying the floor and hanging the towel onto the bar, he swung open the bathroom door, leaving the bathroom light on in case Gabi needed to find her way there during what was left of the night. Mikolas didn't want her stumbling through the house in the dark.

  She shouldn't even be sleeping in the living room alone. Temptation to invite her to bed bit at him, made his brain all fuzzy, and his dick yearn for her sexy body. Revealing his feelings or having the sexual contact were the least of his worries. Had she found out who he was and that was the reason why she pushed him away? She might think she has an idea about the Mafia, but she really didn't grasp the reality of the ruthlessness the men in the Family had. They didn't care who they roughed up or killed. She knew for sure he had connections, but he wanted his role in it all to stay hidden. He didn't want her to find out about his secret. He couldn't picture her falling in love with a murderer.

  He paused by the couch. She still lay curled up in the blanket, but this time she didn't hold the gun and slept. After tucking the blanket tighter around her body, he found the thermostat on the wall and pushed the up arrow to increase the heat. He paused to glance back at her one more time, fighting more urges to drag her to bed. He sighed, feeling the weight of his loneliness in his chest as he went to bed alone, hoping the nightmares stayed away while they were at the cabin.

  Chapter Seven

  Enrico shuffled into the kitchen, the very place he knew his wife would be. Just as expected, Maura stood at the counter chopping some type of green vegetable on the wood cutting board.

  "Oh, my lovely woman, what are you making now?" He cupped her chin, turned her face toward him, and then kissed her on the top of her head. She turned to kiss him on the lips. Just a gentle peck at first, but he put his hand to the back of her head to take the intimacy to a deeper level. After a moment, he pulled back from her. "What did you say you're making?"

  She looked up at him and offered a smile. "A spinach and ricotta tart."

  He put his hand to his chest. "Yum. A woman after my heart."

  "I already stole that from you a long time ago."

  "Is that right?"

  "Has Gabrielle called lately?"

  "I don't have the time to tell you about it right now. The guys and I are headed up to the vault." He grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl.

  Her smile quickly dropped into a frown. "Why? You know I don't like you going there."

  "Listen," his tone hardened like it did when talking to one of his employees, "I'm only going for the day. Trip there and trip back. Nothing more. I need to go up there before the storm hits hard."

  "What storm?" She'd returned to cooking, but her back had gone rod-stiff. Not surprising. He managed to piss off his wife often. It came with the Mafia lifestyle.

  He shrugged. "Vegas might be a little colder. Don't worry so much, Maura." The aroma from the food she had boiling on the stove made his stomach rumble. "Worrying causes wrinkles. You're too pretty for that."

  "Have a biscuit. There in the bowl over there." She pointed to the container that had a paper towel covering the opening. "If a storm is brewing, please don't go. It's not safe up there." Not for her husband or her daughter. She didn't
have a way to reach Gabrielle and hoped her daughter had time to get out of the cabin.

  He waved his hand in the air while grabbing a giant biscuit with the other. "I have to make sure everything is secure up there, Maura."

  "When are you going to use a bank like normal people?"

  He ran his hand through the few strands of hair he had left on the top of his head. "Maura," he snapped. "I'm not like normal people. I don't feel right about having a bank keep that amount of money. Besides, if something happened to me-"

  "Nothing is going to happen to you. Right, Enrico?"

  "If something does, the government won't be able to seize the money. You'll get it and disappear."

  She crossed her arms over her chest and turned away from him. "Don't talk like that."

  "It's the facts, Maura. You have to face them, eh?"

  She shook her head and lifted her hands to her face, trying to wipe away tears before he noticed them.

  "We can talk if I get back before you leave on your vacation."

  "Fine." She turned back to her breakfast preparations.

  *****

  He sprawled out with his lean back in full display probably just to tease her. The thin fabric of the black sweatpants hugged his toned butt and she wanted to touch him. She reached toward him but caught herself before she made contact with the bare flesh of his shoulder.

  His face turned toward her but his eyes remained shut. A piece of dark hair hung down over his forehead. She had never seen him look as peaceful as he did that moment. A slight smile formed on his lips, suggesting a happy dream had taken place during the night. Had the dream been about her?

  Gabrielle pushed her black tangled mess of hair out of her face. "Mik," she called, trying to fight the butterflies that had taken flight deep inside of her stomach.

  "Mm hm," he mumbled, not fully awake.